Police rule death at Vacaville shooting range an apparent suicide

An evidence technician with the Vacaville Police Department enters the shooting range at Gun, Fishing & Other Stuff on Butcher Road to aid the investigation in the shooting death of a male in his mid to late 50s who entered the store rented a handgun and then apparently shot himself on Wednesday.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

A local shooting range was closed Wednesday after a man suffered a fatal gunshot wound in what Vacaville police are calling an apparent suicide, officials confirmed.

Officers responded to the Guns Fishing & Other Stuff, located at 197 Butcher Road, after receiving a call from an employee at 11:56 a.m. reporting a person with a gunshot wound to the head, said Vacaville police Lt. Matt Lydon.

They arrived to find the unidentified man, described as white and in his mid- to late-50s, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head.

There were no witnesses to the shooting and the man was the only person, at the time, who was using the shooting range, which is located in the building's basement, Lydon said. Initially, police were unsure whether the fatal discharge of the gun was an accident or suicide, however, investigators were able to use the store's elaborate video surveillance system to confirm the events surrounding the shooting.

Approximately 30 minutes before police were called, the man reportedly came to the business where he rented a .45-caliber handgun. According to Lydon, the man provided the employee with identification in order to use the gun. He shot an unknown number of rounds before ultimately turning the gun on himself.

When he failed to return from the shooting range, employees tried to contact him through the businesses overhead paging system but received no response, Lydon said.

The employees then went down to the range where they opened the closed doors and found the man.

Based on the report of the injury relayed to police, officers were able to respond with a medic, who determined that the man had succumbed to his injury.

A green sign was place on the door leading down to the range, stating that it was closed for the day.